“What little we have … including our dignity … they are trying to strip that away, too. It’s unacceptable,” said Aaron Tobey, vice chairman of the Mashpee Tribal Council.

“This decision is yet another assault on native sovereignty,” said Tribal Council Chairman Cedric Cromwell.

Tobey said formal acknowledgement for the Mashpee Wampanoag came two years ago, but he contends the tribe has always been recognized.

“We don’t see this as having any effect on us,” Tobey said. “Keep in mind, we have a deed to 16,000 acres in Mashpee dated before 1934 ... we have deeds dating to the 1600s.”

In exchange for the town of Mashpee’s support for the land into trust application, the tribe agreed not to revisit the land claim.

But Tobey warned that if the rules of the game change, all bets are off.

“For us it’s not just about a casino in Middleboro, it’s about our identity,” Tobey said.

The court on Tuesday ruled the Department of Interior cannot take land into trust, which puts the proposed Middleboro casino in limbo while state and federal officials figure out the ramifications of the decision.

“We are reviewing the decision to ascertain what impact it may have on tribes in Massachusetts,” said Kofi Jones, spokeswoman for Secretary of Housing and Economic Development Greg Bialecki.

“We are still reviewing the decision, there are many issues to review connected to this case,” said Nedra Darling, spokeswoman for the Department of Interior.

In light of the court ruling, Cromwell called on Congress to change the policy, and said he will be writing to the state’s legislators in Washington.

“It is absurd on its face that the policy of the United States government would be to recognize the sovereignty of native tribes but not allow those sovereign nations to take land into trust,” said Cromwell.

Some are calling the ruling the death knell for the Middleboro casino. “The tribe is in a lot of trouble,” said Richard Young president of Middleboro’s CasinoFacts and the statewide coalition Casino Free Mass.

Young plans a nationwide campaign, calling on congressmen and senators to stop the swell of tribal casinos. “Middleboro was sold on the inevitable,” Young said. “This ruling proves a casino is not inevitable.”